Welcome back race fans. This week the Monster Energy Cup Series heads to Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400 under the lights on Saturday night. It will be just the eighth race held here in the Cup Series but there have already been big changes. Back in 2016 the track was repaved and turns one and two were altered to add progressive banking with 17 degrees while turns three and four remained at 14 degrees. Many drivers have said that the entry into turn three is also one of the toughest on the circuit and all things considered, this is not your "cookie cutter" mile and a half track.

For fantasy, unique track or not, we will be concentrating heavily on a couple drivers to gain us dominator points to build the core of our lineups around. There has been at least one driver to lead 100 or more laps in all seven races here and at least two drivers to lead 50 or more laps in five of the seven races.

The "Big Three" are all priced the same on FanDuel but the edge goes to Kyle Busch on DraftKings at a slight discount. That is not the only thing to like about Busch this week as he has won here twice and finished Top 10 in six of the seven races run here at Kentucky. He and Kevin Harvick have dominated the mile and a half tracks this season and to top it off, he was Top 5 in both practices including 10-lap averages in the first practice. He is my top pick of the week and safe in all formats.

Denny Hamlin(DK-$9,500 FD-$10,400)

Hamlin has been up and down here at Kentucky but is coming off a Top 5 last year, his third in seven races at the track. While he didn't impress in either practice when looking at one-lap averages(16th/20th), he posted the fastest 10-lap average in final practice. He also gives us elite place differential as the #11 failed inspection and was not able to make a qualifying lap resulting in a 36th starting position. All things considered, he is a top play in all formats.

Ryan Blaney(DK-$8,500 FD-$10,000)

Blaney didn't fare so well in his first trip to Kentucky back in 2016 when he finished 35th but he returned last year in the #21 for the Wood Brothers and posted a Top 10. He is now in the #12 for Penske Racing and has a great shot at another Top 10 and possibly a win this week as he was second-fastest in both practices and also second in 10-lap averages in final practice. He will start seventh on Saturday night and at these prices, is safe in all formats.

Matt DiBenedetto(DK-$5,500 FD-$5,000)

Things didn't go so well for DiBenedetto in his first two races here in the #83 for BK Racing as he finished 42 and 38th in 2015 and 2016 but things got better last year. He jumped into the #32 car and pulled off a 25th-place finish. This week he will start 37th after missing qualifying due to inspection issues which gives him place differential at a minimum price. I don't expect his ceiling to be any better than 25th-30th but with the price, you are able to stack multiple top drivers without a ton of risk.

NASCAR DFS Cheat Sheet

Don't have the time to search multiple sites looking for NASCAR stats and data?

Check out my DFS NASCAR cheatsheet which includes Track History(2-Year Trend & Career), Track Type History(2-Year Trend), Current Form, Practice/Qualifying Data, and a weighted system to get an overall rank for each driver each race. Check out it now while it's still in BETA mode and FREE to everyone. Also, be sure to check out the Race by Race Trends Sheet.

DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room

If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!